tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83321110799382085972016-12-03T06:34:47.688-08:00The New SavageryWriting, food, style, and more from Seth Pollins and friends.Seth Pollinsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-76333042349754650262016-07-14T16:05:00.000-07:002016-07-26T12:27:39.868-07:00How to Parent in a Way That Feels Honest and Humane?Stepping out today, I grabbed the only available umbrella: Ella's beloved Hello Kitty "brella." Candies and fruits! Gum drops and donuts! Swirled ice cream! French macarons! Looking up, into Hello Kitty's deceptively innocuous face, I felt the sheer, saccharine horror of "cuteness," at least as it's peddled to little girls these days--I felt the cuteness, and embraced it, as my life.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BW1BSP1NoN4/V5ZQWacsNdI/AAAAAAAADvI/CYYjU5Afwn8DHXcdCy5XawRVmatpqYgoACLcB/s1600/seth%2Bhello%2Bkitty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BW1BSP1NoN4/V5ZQWacsNdI/AAAAAAAADvI/CYYjU5Afwn8DHXcdCy5XawRVmatpqYgoACLcB/s400/seth%2Bhello%2Bkitty.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ella's Hello Kitty Umbrella</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Have you ever seen a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm2kjA3YWO4">Magiclip doll</a>? Ella has thirty or more, and on any given evening, long after the wine's gone, I've been called to play the part of Prince Charming or Flynn Rider, to ask Ella's Cinderella or Rapunzel, "Will you marry me?"<br /><br />Last week's shootings derailed me. I felt pointless and privileged; angry and sad. Mostly I felt anesthetized by a shame that stopped me in my tracks. "What can I do?" I asked myself, again and again.<br /><br />Writing felt frivolous. I wanted to reach out to my black friends, to say, "I'm with you." But as <a href="http://www.marieclaire.com/culture/features/a21423/roxane-gay-philando-castile-alton-sterling/">Roxane Gay wrote in Marie Claire</a>: "Black people do not need allies. We need people to stand up and take on the problems borne of oppression as their own, without remove or distance."<br /><br />I've been thinking about this. I've been thinking about Roxane's call for white people to "speak up when you hear people making racist jokes. Speak up when you see injustice in action." And of course, I think about how to talk to Ella about all this--how to teach her to "speak up", sincerely, without guilt or a sense of duty--to just do it. It might be too early for that conversation, but recently the sentiment has influenced our conversations.<br /><br />How to parent in a way that feels honest and humane?<br /><br />This challenge, like Roxane's, lifts me from my moping, demands something from me. And so I try to take Ella's world seriously. I try to play Magiclips with a sincerity of purpose that matches her own.<br /><br />Playing, I hope to nurture her voice now, to give her the confidence, now and later, to "speak up" in her way. When called upon, years from now, what will Ella say?<br /><br />I don't pretend to understand what is required of me as a person, a parent. What I do hope to teach my daughter, though, is to challenge the easy stereotypes, to fight the sort of thinking that denies the experience of difference, and yet, at the same time, to make her life a testament--a celebration--of difference.<br /><br />Be whoever the fuck you want to be, I hope to teach her. And fight for the rights of others who do not have that privilege.<br /><br /><i>Originally posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153846835348434&amp;set=a.426890683433.203423.565058433&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook</a></i>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-45132748917157951812016-05-25T10:54:00.000-07:002016-07-28T06:23:41.314-07:00Lucky <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUaPUCnxYz4/V5ZSCU6jORI/AAAAAAAADvU/HUykGArdaxIFZP24NT3EFUidaSqgeEWdQCLcB/s1600/Ella%2B%2526%2BDaddy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUaPUCnxYz4/V5ZSCU6jORI/AAAAAAAADvU/HUykGArdaxIFZP24NT3EFUidaSqgeEWdQCLcB/s400/Ella%2B%2526%2BDaddy.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><br />Four years ago to the day (more or less; the photo was taken May 26, 2012). Ella was not even three-months-old. I was thirty-five. I'm not sure who has aged more--Ella or me. She's writing letters now, whole names: ELLA, OWEN. She quotes chunks of <i>JAWS</i>. She nails "this shark, swallow you whole." She worries when people call her "beautiful." She doesn't want to be beautiful, not yet. She wants to be "cute." She dresses in clashing patterns. She refuses to tie her hair up. She's "only four," she reminds me.<br /><br />I'm still wearing a <a href="http://therumpus.net/2012/08/the-short-swimsuit-a-personal-historical-account/">short swimsuit</a>, though not this short. My beard is 50% grey. My prominent nose looks a bit uneven, somehow more flattened and large. And there’s this line, this new line that runs down my left cheek. My skinny man's paunch, I've accepted, is here to stay. It's the wine, I know, two or three glasses a night, sometimes more.<br /><br />I've just finished writing my memoir--three years in the making. I'm feeling retrospective, elegiac even. I'm remembering life before Ella and Owen. I'm imagining waking in a bright hotel room, wood floors gleaming in the light, wearing a short swimsuit, Karen asleep next to me—both of us free, for one daydream, of the omnipotent hold of our children.<br /><br />I thought three years of writing about my life might teach me something about life. Perhaps. I've learned I need to love and feel loved by family and friends--that love is all that matters to me. I'm not sure this is a lesson. It feels like narcissism. Maybe saying that is narcissism. Perhaps I should own it.<br /><br />I'm not especially ambitious, I've learned. I just want to be a good friend, a good son, a good brother, a good nephew, a good uncle, a good dad.<br /><br />I want my wife, who turns thirty-eight tomorrow, to feel I love her a bit more than anything. I want to be a fabulous husband, though I often fail.<br /><br />I hope to send my memoir out to the world, though I feel doubtful, just now, after three years of work. You see what I mean? I need people to love; to love me. For three years, I took as my working title a line suggested by my longtime mentor, friend, and boss, Mary Beth: "What is Wrong With Me." After finishing, though, I'm feeling a bit different. "Lucky" feels right to me, now. I suppose that's something I learned, too. However selfish the lesson, I've learned I'm lucky. I try to remember that. I try.<br /><br /><i>Originally posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153734475618434&amp;set=a.426890683433.203423.565058433&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook</a>.</i>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-24111885742966342852016-04-18T11:02:00.000-07:002016-07-25T11:02:24.365-07:00Owen's First Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_83Ai-6Cbw/V5ZTqP0Tf6I/AAAAAAAADvg/YS43l4bTacYlP6ZMpwvOHhe7kg2UBg8dACLcB/s1600/Owen%2Band%2BElla2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_83Ai-6Cbw/V5ZTqP0Tf6I/AAAAAAAADvg/YS43l4bTacYlP6ZMpwvOHhe7kg2UBg8dACLcB/s400/Owen%2Band%2BElla2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tomorrow we will celebrate Owen's first birthday. I post this picture of him (with Ella, on Easter Sunday) because it so perfectly reveals his rowdy spirit. He loves to throw. He loves to shout. What Ella builds--strange installations--he destroys.<br /><br />Most of all, he loves to eat--by the greedy handful. Bananas. Chicken thighs. Guacamole. Dirt. Ella's horrible Magic Clip Dolls. And just this Saturday, birthday cake, which he devoured angrily, his little mind figuring it out: "They've been holding out on me!"<br /><br />My favorite part of the day: Halfway through dinner, Owen balls his fists, smirks at me, and growls. I growl back. Ella shouts. Owen shouts, smashing his fists on his tray. The meal devolves to outright savagery--notwithstanding Karen, of course.<br /><br />Anyone who has ever dined with me will attest to this fact: I've always wanted for the perfectly savage dinner companion. (Ella, God bless her, eats like a bird).<br /><br />My son. I love the sound of that phrase. I love his bulk, the smell of his head. I love the sister he has made of Ella, my darling. I love the feeling he conjures in our home--the sensation of purpose, a family unified by a sole, implicit duty: to take care of each other. One year after the fact, I have to admit: I love the little guy.<br /><br /><i>Originally posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153659862768434&amp;set=a.123751483433.104427.565058433&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook</a></i>.Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-66092579542308888742016-03-07T11:10:00.000-08:002016-07-25T11:12:20.085-07:00Daddy, Owen, and Ella Day <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lwBViLDvArI/V5ZNuVt7y5I/AAAAAAAADvA/B_wp_ORtkv8JhWvVQVNJ9Gn4XtQmJtdMQCEw/s1600/Owen%2Band%2BElla4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lwBViLDvArI/V5ZNuVt7y5I/AAAAAAAADvA/B_wp_ORtkv8JhWvVQVNJ9Gn4XtQmJtdMQCEw/s400/Owen%2Band%2BElla4.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ella and Owen, December, 2015</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Since the school year started (back in September), I've spent each Friday--from 6:30 AM to 6 PM--with the kids: "Daddy, Owen, and Ella Day," as Ella calls it. I understand plenty of parents--heroic mothers, mostly--spend every weekday alone with the kids. What for me is a weekly "event" is for many stay-at-home parents (heroic mothers, mostly) just another day with the kids.<br /><br />I also understand that Daddy, Owen, and Ella Day is a breeze compared to Mommy, Owen, and Ella Day. Together with the kids, I take a free agent approach: Let's just all hang together in close proximity: Ella imagining with her Magic Clip dolls; Owen swiftly crawling, stuffing things in his mouth; Daddy cooking.<br /><br />With Mommy, though, a free agent approach is impossible. Owen cannot be around Karen without NEEDING to be held. He is, after eleven months, still a part of her anatomy: nursing, cuddling, sleeping on and with her. Seeing this, Ella--a week shy of four--demands nothing short of Karen's total attentiveness. "Mommy, play with me." Ella has been known to say this hundreds of times per day. Even when Karen is playing, Ella, noting the slightest lapse, repeats, "Mommy, play with me."<br /><br />So I'm nothing special. I get that. My anger at the end of the day when Karen is, say, ten minutes late. My tales of poop and sorrow. The hour I spend in our parked, idling car, the kids sleeping in peace. Nothing special.<br /><br />It's just unfathomable how hard it can be. Monday to Thursday,working and writing, I seem to forget what Friday has in store for me. Then the day arrives, Owen waking early, seeing me and not Mommy, fighting the disappointment, crying, desirous of everything: food, love, hugs, attention. Then Ella, up at seven, not at all fighting disappointment: "I don't want it to be Daddy, Owen, and Ella Day!"<br /><br />By nine, when we leave to go the Y, I feel the rest of the day collapsing upon me. But somehow, we survive. There's laughter. Owen, the bruiser, smashing his head into something seemingly dangerous, yet giggling. There's reconciliation. Ella eating Daddy's cooking, saying, I swear, "I wish we could go back and do everything over, and I'd never cry, and never get angry, and we could have this great sandwich over and over."<br /><br />There's love, too, of course, the love I'm taking my time to learn, the selfless love one is urged to embody. There's the selfish love I much prefer, too, the love I'll never give up, my love for Ella and Owen bound in my love for myself, for who they make me: "Daddy," as I say, hundreds of times per day. So nothing special. In the context of my life, though--6 months out from forty--an identity-altering occasion.<br /><br /><i>Originally posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153542991543434&amp;set=a.123751483433.104427.565058433&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook</a></i>.Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-60211966319337422402015-04-29T11:44:00.000-07:002016-07-25T11:48:28.647-07:00A Confession <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PoPekMkpbdc/V5Ze7N57aSI/AAAAAAAADvw/JM1k0wvgv7wPoHJ9nqBjFSBl9IfDstV_wCLcB/s1600/daddy%2Band%2Bown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PoPekMkpbdc/V5Ze7N57aSI/AAAAAAAADvw/JM1k0wvgv7wPoHJ9nqBjFSBl9IfDstV_wCLcB/s400/daddy%2Band%2Bown.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />This feels like a confession so I’ll just say it plainly: I am not yet in love with Owen. I could lie. I could say I fell in love when I saw him emerge with his vernix sheen. And I swear (with my hand on my heart) I believe in love at first sight. It happened to me before—twenty-three years ago, to be precise, on the first day of my sophomore year at Wissahickon, when I turned a corner and glimpsed for the first time my future wife, Karen Magowan.<br /><br />But I did not fall in love with Owen—or Ella, for that matter—at first sight. Perhaps a mother’s love is immediate. Perhaps a father falls in love in fits and starts. When Karen wakes at three in the morning to nurse Owen, I wake too, but not with her sense of serenity. Nursing in the middle of the night, she smiles with a radiance not unlike the happily drugged. She likes the night light. I hate it. So a bit dazed, a bit annoyed, I throw my t-shirt over my face, try to ignore Owen’s glugging, Karen’s wakefulness: her iPhone glow, her feet rubbing together.<br /><br />Thankfully, I’ve been through this before. Looking at Ella now, I can scarcely fathom a time when the mere thought of her did not mobilize my senses.<br /><br />Everything for her, I think and feel. And her mother. Karen—who I miss now in my selfish way. Karen—the women I’d share a bed with, alone if not for Owen.<br /><br />&nbsp;And everything for Ella's brother, Owen, I suppose I should say.<br /><br />Fits and starts. At least this is my experience.<br /><br />Or perhaps this is my own preposterous flaw. I’m hesitant to Google it. I’d hate to discover I’m a monster.<br /><br />In my defense, I can pinpoint my most recent fit. This morning I put Owen in the nook of my arm and whispered in his ear, “Relax, son.” It was the first time I had addressed him so: son. He was crying, as he does, with his breathtaking lip quiver. Or so it felt to me: breathtaking. So I whispered again (with my hand on my heart), “Relax, son. Daddy loves you.” And who knows, perhaps I was telling the truth—in a way I do not yet understand.<br /><br /><i>Originally posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152918436738434&amp;set=a.123751483433.104427.565058433&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Facebook</a></i>.Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-66258334930089242632015-03-25T11:48:00.000-07:002016-07-26T13:19:36.468-07:00Fran Lebowitz on Men Wearing Shorts<span style="font-size: large;">"I have to say that one of the biggest changes in my lifetime, is the phenomenon of men wearing shorts. Men never wore shorts when I was young. There are few things I would rather see less, to tell you the truth. I'd just as soon see someone coming toward me with a hand grenade. This is one of the worst changes, by far. It's disgusting. To have to sit next to grown men on the subway in the summer, and they're wearing shorts? It's repulsive. They look ridiculous, like children, and I can't take them seriously."&nbsp;</span><br /><br />&nbsp;~Fran Lebowitz<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SYAA2_KwXt8/V5fFpXQwZvI/AAAAAAAADwU/gGkwou86_JMTnjZxOr1BV9KJOafPRL0WACLcB/s1600/paul%2Bnewman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SYAA2_KwXt8/V5fFpXQwZvI/AAAAAAAADwU/gGkwou86_JMTnjZxOr1BV9KJOafPRL0WACLcB/s400/paul%2Bnewman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What was that you said, Fran Lebowitz?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Read: <a href="http://www.elle.com/fashion/personal-style/interviews/a27447/fran-lebowitz-style-interview/">'Yoga Pants are Ruining Women' and Other Style Advice from Fran Lebowitz</a><br /><br />Related: "<a href="http://therumpus.net/topics/short-swimsuits/">The Short Swimsuit: A Personal &amp; Historical Account</a>"<br /><br />And: "<a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2013/05/a-good-drunken-sleep-on-beach-mens.html">A Good Drunken Sleep on the Beach: A Men's Summer Style Guide</a>"<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-42599698213613076282015-02-24T06:25:00.001-08:002016-07-26T13:20:37.212-07:00John Jeremiah Sullivan on the "Weird Implicit Enmity" of American Males in Crowds <span style="font-size: large;">"I've been to a lot of huge public events in this country during the past five years, writing about sports or whatever, and one thing they all had in common was this weird implicit enmity that American males, in particular, seem to carry around with them much of the time. Call it a laughable generalization, fine, but if you spend enough late afternoons in stadium concourses, you feel it, something darker than machismo. Something a little wounded, and a little sneering, and just plain ready for bad things to happen."</span><br /><br />&nbsp;~John Jeremiah Sullivan from his essay, "<a href="http://www.gq.com/entertainment/music/200401/rock-music-jesus?printable=true">Upon This Rock</a>."<br /><br /><br />Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-82534717877575759672015-02-23T06:07:00.000-08:002016-07-26T13:28:01.693-07:00Miranda July on Motherhood<span style="font-size: large;">"But as the sun rose I crested the mountain of my self-pity and remembered I was always going to die at the end of this life anyway. What did it really matter if I spent it like this—caring for this boy—as opposed to some other way? I would always be earthbound; he hadn’t robbed me of my ability to fly or to liver forever… If you were wise enough to know that this life would consist mostly of letting go of things you wanted, then why not get good at the letting go, rather than the trying to have? These exotic revelations bubbled up involuntarily and I began to understand that the sleeplessness and vigilance and constant feedings were a form of brainwashing, a process by which my old self was being molded, slowly but with a steady force, into a new shape: a mother."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">~Miranda July from her novel, <i>The First Bad Man </i></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cof5qJCJl4E/V5fHpz0V0uI/AAAAAAAADwc/MLmF4mOfCwUhSoj77ZnwaIlRR0XwQE5NACLcB/s1600/miranda%2Bjuly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cof5qJCJl4E/V5fHpz0V0uI/AAAAAAAADwc/MLmF4mOfCwUhSoj77ZnwaIlRR0XwQE5NACLcB/s400/miranda%2Bjuly.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Miranda July and her family </i>[<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/fukutom/miranda-july/">Source</a>]</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-3178773304673509402015-01-03T11:26:00.000-08:002015-03-25T12:20:24.145-07:00A Reasonable New Year's Resolution: Enjoy Your Food<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The New Year is a time of optimism and hope. Just visit your local gym. You'll be sure to see a crowd of "resolutionists" courageously weightlifting, cycling, and running their way to the new, healthy person they'd promised to be. Unfortunately, we know from our own experience as well as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899328988800166">scientific studies</a> that most people will relapse into bad habits. As Maria Konnikova wrote in the&nbsp;<i>The New Yorker</i>&nbsp;last year:<br /><br />"When the psychologist John Norcross researched New Year’s resolutions, in the nineteen-eighties, he found that more than fifty per cent of Americans made some sort of resolution. After six months, only forty per cent had stuck with it. When Norcross followed up two years later, the number had dropped to nineteen per cent."</span></span><br /><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So why do we feel so compelled to make New Year's resolutions--and why do we so often fail? In her post "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/12/why-we-make-resolutions-and-why-they-fail.html?utm_source=www&amp;utm_medium=tw&amp;utm_campaign=20131230">Why We Make Resolutions (and Why They Fail)</a>," Konnikova writes about timing and optimism. Apparently, as Konnikova writes, "The beginning of a week, a month, or a year forms what the psychologist Richard Thaler calls a notational boundary"--a turning point or new beginning.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">The beginning of weeks and months inspire optimism for many people, and the beginning of a new year inspires extreme optimism for most people. Unfortunately, this optimism is hard to sustain. And so many people end up failing. Why? Well, too often we're "</span><i style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">too positive</i><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">." We set unreachable expectations, and condemn ourselves to failure. As Konnikova writes,</span><br /><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">"Many backsliders relapse because they have overestimated their own abilities, underestimated the time and effort involved in staying the course, or have an exaggerated view of the effect that the change would have on their lives."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overestimating abilities. Underestimating time and effort. An exaggerated view of change. I find these qualities often apply to people who, for whatever reason, wish to change their relationship with food. Unfortunately, instead of making subtle common-sense changes that we can easily maintain, we often shoot for the moon with <a href="http://thepaleodiet.com/">all-or-nothing diets</a>, <a href="http://themastercleanse.org/">extreme fasts</a>, and/or expensive <a href="http://blueprintcleanse.com/">cleanses</a>. The problem with these approaches, as most of us have experienced, is backsliding--we just can’t maintain our enthusiasm.</span></span><br /><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: inherit; line-height: 150%;">Or perhaps lack of enthusiasm is not the problem. We’re humans, after all, and our relationship with food is governed by nuanced emotions and shared memories--qualities that most "diets" completely neglect. Let’s face it: almost all "diets" present emotionless views of food and eating.</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a tremendously complicated relationship with food--a relationship defined as much by illness as joy. What I’ve learned from exploring this relationship, if anything, is that truly nourishing food is about <i>pleasure</i>. In my opinion, an <a href="http://www.epicbar.com/">Epic Bar</a> eaten in penance is not as healthy as a piece of chocolate eaten with reverence and joy.&nbsp;</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-72448401788157657162014-11-01T09:30:00.001-07:002014-11-01T09:32:41.096-07:00Braque Shocks Picasso<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5XdTJx2lm0U/VFUKa0G3NcI/AAAAAAAACaE/KRnZ3PHAAT4/s1600/Braque_fruitdish_glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5XdTJx2lm0U/VFUKa0G3NcI/AAAAAAAACaE/KRnZ3PHAAT4/s1600/Braque_fruitdish_glass.jpg" height="640" width="467" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"Fruit Dish and Glass", Braque's first papier collé (1912)</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">"I felt a great shock and it was an even greater shock to Picasso when I showed it to him."</span><br /><br />~Braque, on his first papier collé, "Fruit Dish and Glass", possibly the first ever collage<br /><br />Source: <i>The New Yorker</i>: "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/27/new-4">Cubist Masterworks at the Met</a>."Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-10377454928415655262014-10-30T12:47:00.001-07:002014-10-30T12:47:47.536-07:00How to Eat--and Enjoy--SugarI was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes nearly ten years ago, on my honeymoon in Barcelona. If you Google the phrase “<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=honeymoon+horror+story&amp;rls=com.microsoft:en-us%3AIE-SearchBox&amp;cad=h">Honeymoon Horror Story</a>”, <a href="http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/spollins/2011/04/my-honeymoon-horror-story/">my essay</a> about the prelude to this diagnosis (I was hit by a car) appears on the first page results. I’m perversely proud of this fact. But really, I do not remember my honeymoon as a “horror story." My diagnosis saved my life and set my path. With daily insulin injections, I recovered my health and transformed my lifestyle.<br /><br />Since my diagnosis, I’ve performed a rigorous daily experiment upon myself: each day, I’ve tested my body’s response to the sugars in foods (up to 12 times a day), and I’ve calibrated my insulin needs and lifestyle to best suit optimal health. I believe my experience might prove instructive for others--especially as we enter the holiday season with its promise of cookies and candy and cakes.<br /><br />1. <b> Sugar (in most forms) is not necessarily unhealthy</b>. We all need sugar to thrive. Glucose, specifically, is the optimal form of energy for the human body. Every cell, every bacterium uses glucose for energy. The trouble begins when we consume more sugar than our bodies need. If you received your sugar (fructose) only from vegetables and fruits, you’d consume about 15 grams per day—a far cry from most diets. <br /><br />2. <b>So how much sugar do you need?</b> The answer to this question is specific to each individual, depending on your relative body type and activity level, but most estimates say that the human brain needs about 120 grams of sugar per day. If you're of the scientific persuasion, peruse this <a href="http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~brandt/Chem330/EndocrineNotes/Chapter_5_Glucose.pdf">handy PDF</a> from Dr. Brandt of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Dr. Brandt says: <br /><br />"The brain uses about 120 grams of glucose daily: 60-70% of the total body glucose metabolism. The brain has little stored glucose, and no other energy stores. Brain function begins to become seriously affected when glucose levels fall below ~40 mg/dL."<br /><br />There is much <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-much-glucose-does-your-brain-really-need/#axzz2mKXcAjSh">debate about this requirement</a>, but for our purposes, using 120 grams as a baseline for 70% of the body’s needs, we see an estimate of 174 grams of sugar per day. This can come in the form of carbohydrates, which are converted to sugar (my favorite <a href="http://www.berlinnaturalbakery.com/collections/spelt-bread/products/sourdough-spelt-bread">bread recommendation</a> provides 17 grams of sugar per slice) or the pure sugar found in juice or soda (a 12 oz. Coke Class provides 39 grams of sugar). <br /><br />3. <b>Sugars exist in apparently healthy foods</b>: Apples. Brown rice. Sweet potatoes. All carbohydrate foods are eventually metabolized as sugar. From a limited perspective, the sugar you receive from a bowl of grapes might be more than the sugar you receive from a Coke Classic. Of course, in vegetables and fruits, sugar is mixed with fiber and beneficial phytonutrients, which can potentially moderate any negative metabolic effects. The best way to consume sugar, of course, is to eat vegetables--like the winter squash dish below.&nbsp; In any case, it isn’t that sugar itself is bad -- it’s excessive sugar that harms health. <br /><br />4. <b>Sugar that is not used is stored for later use</b>. Any meal or snack with carbohydrates generates a rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin into the bloodstream, which lowers blood glucose levels. Insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved over millions of years, to store the excess calories from carbohydrates in the form of fat. <br /><br />5. <b> If you don’t use it you gain it</b>: The upshot? Not matter what type of carbohydrate or sugar you eat, if you do not match your sugar requirements with your sugar consumption, you will likely gain weight. <br /><br />With this in mind, I think it’s important to remember that sugar can exert a powerful and potentially positive emotional effect. So how can we modulate our holiday sugar consumption so that we can enjoy our favorites while still enjoying our health? <br /><br />1. <b>Exercise, Exercise, Exercise</b>: To my point of view, there is no better way to truly enjoy a potentially sugar-heavy dish (like"perfect" mashed potatoes) than to truly earn it through exercise. When you exercise (especially intensely) your muscles become more efficient at absorbing sugar for a period of 24 hours or more.<br /><br />2. <b>Enjoy every bite!</b> If you’re eating sugar this holiday season, make sure you enjoy each and every bite. Try to be conscientious about what and how you’re eating. All cookies are not created equal. And all eating experiences are not created equal. Save yourself for the best cookie and enjoy it with the appreciation and gusto it deserves. <br /><br />3. <b>Eat the real deal</b>: <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/artificial-sweeteners-may-disrupt-bodys-blood-sugar-controls/?_php=true&amp;_type=blogs&amp;_r=0">More and more evidence now reveals that sugar is actually less harmful than sugar alternatives</a>.<br /><br />*** <br /><br /><b>Perfect Mashed Potatoes</b> <br /><br /><i>This recipe is adapted from the Cook's Illustrated mashed potatoes in </i>The New Best Recipe<i>. The recipe calls for peeling the potatoes by hand, but a ricer works wonderfully, producing the most light, airy potatoes imaginable. </i><br /><br />2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes <br />4 tablespoons grassfed butter, like <a href="http://kerrygoldusa.com/">Kerrygold Butter</a><br />1/2 cup coconut milk (full-fat is best) <br />1 1/2 teaspoons salt <br />Fresh ground black pepper <br /><br />Place the potatoes whole in a large saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 35-45 minutes. Drain. Reserve pot for mashing. Meanwhile, warm the coconut milk in a medium saucepan over low heat. Season the coconut milk with sea salt, and black pepper to taste. <br /><br />While still warm, cut each potato in half, then peel the skin with fingers or a small paring knife. (Alternately, and much better, place the potatoes, skin-on, into a ricer or food mill.) Drop the peeled potatoes back into the pot you used for boiling. Gently mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add butter and mix. Add the warmed coconut milk, and gently season with additional salt and pepper, adjusting seasonings to taste. Serve. <br /><br /><b>Roasted Acorn Squash with Squash Risotto</b> <br /><br /><i>I always get depressed in December because squash season is almost over. So I grasp at the last of season and try to make something immaculate. I originally developed this recipe for Whole Foods Market. It's published <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/roasted-acorn-squash-squash-risotto">here</a>. </i><br /><br />4 acorn squash <br />3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil <br />Salt to taste <br />6 cups water or gluten-free vegetable broth <br />1 cup finely chopped leeks <br />2 1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash<br /> 2 cups uncooked Arborio rice <br />1/2 cup dry white wine <br />1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped sage, divided <br />2/3 cup pine nuts <br />1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme&nbsp; <br /><br />Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut each acorn squash lengthwise in half (from tip to stem) then scoop out and discard any seeds and stringy flesh. Brush insides of acorn squash with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt. Place acorn squash, cut side down, in a baking pan and roast until tender but still firm, about 20 minutes. <br /><br />Meanwhile, start the risotto by bringing the broth just to a simmer in a small pot over medium high heat. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy 3-quart pot over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add butternut squash and cook for 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until grains are fragrant. Add wine and stir constantly until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the hot broth to rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1/2 cup at a time, making sure that most of the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Continue until rice is almost tender, but still firm to the bite, about 20 to 25 minutes total. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the sage and season with salt. <br /><br />Meanwhile, put pine nuts into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Stir in thyme, remaining 1/2 teaspoon sage and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside. <br /><br />When acorn squash is cooked, remove from oven. Reduce heat to 300°F. Carefully turn squash over and fill each cavity with about 1/2 cup of the risotto. Gently press about 2 tablespoons of the pine nut mixture on top of the risotto in each squash half. Return squash to oven and bake until topping begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0NXx16cgEk/VFKU7hb2yoI/AAAAAAAACZw/9agr5VTVgvo/s1600/acorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0NXx16cgEk/VFKU7hb2yoI/AAAAAAAACZw/9agr5VTVgvo/s1600/acorn.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Roasted Acorn Squash with Squash Risotto </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">[Source: <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/roasted-acorn-squash-squash-risotto">Whole Foods Market</a>]</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-81886601129445873832014-10-29T10:22:00.000-07:002014-10-29T10:22:50.524-07:00Recent Obsessions: Gustin's FabricsI learned about <a href="https://www.weargustin.com/store">Gustin </a>from <a href="http://putthison.com/">Put This On</a>, the most literate and thoughtful style website this side of the Pacific Ocean. Gustin employs a zero-waste, direct-to-consumer business model (much like <a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2013/03/recent-personal-obsessions-clothes-bags.html">Everlane</a>) that cuts out the middle man. What makes Gustin unique (or relatively unique) is its crowdsourcing business model: they don't make any product without appropriate funding.<br /><br />In Gustin's own words:<br /><br /><b>So how does it work? </b>We design boutique-quality handmade menswear. We create a campaign for an item, you back it. Once the number of items backed reaches the campaign goal, the item is successfully funded and we start production.<br /><br /><b>When do I pay? </b>When you hit “Back it!”, you’re not paying immediately. We’ll validate your credit card number initially, and charge you when the item reaches its funding goal. If the item reaches its funding deadline without reaching its goal, you will not be charged. <br /><br />***<br /><br />Gustin is known for their raw, selvedge denim jeans, but they make plenty of other products, including chinos, jackets, and bags. I have yet to back a project (honestly, I've been discouraged by the complaints on <a href="http://www.styleforum.net/t/365731/gustin-official-affiliate-thread">Style Forum</a>), but I've followed the brand for a year, and I've really enjoyed looking at their unique fabrics.<br /><br />I would've backed the Japan Azure (below), but it was funded within an hour! In any case, I've posted a few of my favorite fabrics below. If you're looking a unique variety of colors and <br />textures, Gustin is your place.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XGEmqJ8TUqI/VFEbXU_N-AI/AAAAAAAACYE/r8huVzr4jwY/s1600/ablue1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XGEmqJ8TUqI/VFEbXU_N-AI/AAAAAAAACYE/r8huVzr4jwY/s1600/ablue1.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><a href="https://www.weargustin.com/store/1181">Postal Herringbone</a>: an Italian raw selvedge denim</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pYHcV5Y0CQ/VFEc3D8u67I/AAAAAAAACYQ/lpCQE2N5NiY/s1600/ablue2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pYHcV5Y0CQ/VFEc3D8u67I/AAAAAAAACYQ/lpCQE2N5NiY/s1600/ablue2.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>An <a href="https://www.weargustin.com/store/1077">indigo plant dye chambray</a> shirt fabric from Japan</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Gothlu3FB0/VFEdvgzz5YI/AAAAAAAACYY/9r8UosfSspc/s1600/ablue3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Gothlu3FB0/VFEdvgzz5YI/AAAAAAAACYY/9r8UosfSspc/s1600/ablue3.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">A Japanese&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weargustin.com/store/959">double indigo fabric for a dobby shirt</a>. The swaths reveal how the shirt wears.&nbsp;</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-APSL5OTdcBc/VFEepPjx3nI/AAAAAAAACYg/1uNz7XDVJRk/s1600/ablue4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-APSL5OTdcBc/VFEepPjx3nI/AAAAAAAACYg/1uNz7XDVJRk/s1600/ablue4.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A <a href="https://www.weargustin.com/store/792#">peach blue plaid </a>cotton poplin shirt fabric from Japan</i></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yTgMjqkWLUA/VFEf3NQyuAI/AAAAAAAACYs/ejuGGNYaJ0E/s1600/ablue5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yTgMjqkWLUA/VFEf3NQyuAI/AAAAAAAACYs/ejuGGNYaJ0E/s1600/ablue5.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.weargustin.com/store/606">The Japan Azure</a>: For me, this color evokes the vintage blues of JAWS (below). I love it.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTWvOvQRNaE/VFEhENapMxI/AAAAAAAACY0/IFjuJuVuqbI/s1600/ablue6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTWvOvQRNaE/VFEhENapMxI/AAAAAAAACY0/IFjuJuVuqbI/s1600/ablue6.jpg" height="281" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>At least five blues here</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-20517374695055153832014-09-26T10:29:00.000-07:002014-11-01T09:22:18.961-07:00A Dictatorship of Likes<span style="font-size: large;">"Culture appears more monolithic than ever, with a few gigantic corporations—Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon—presiding over unprecedented monopolies. Internet discourse has become tighter, more coercive. Search engines guide you away from peculiar words. (“Did you mean . . . ?”) Headlines have an authoritarian bark (“This Map of Planes in the Air Right Now Will Blow Your Mind”). “Most Read” lists at the top of Web sites imply that you should read the same stories everyone else is reading. Technology conspires with populism to create an ideologically vacant dictatorship of likes."</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>~Alex Ross, writing in <i>The New Yorker</i>, on "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/15/naysayers">Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, and the critique of pop culture</a>"Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-58745039222809536292014-09-23T12:18:00.003-07:002014-11-01T09:23:11.706-07:00Cassandro El Exótico: "Your Ego is Not Your Amigo"<span style="font-size: large;">“You know who I fight in the ring? Cassandro. The guy who needs to be famous. Your ego is not your amigo. It’s Saúl against Cassandro up there. I had to become humble.”</span><br /><br />~The Mexican <i>luchador</i>, Saul Armendáriz, on his famed&nbsp;<i>exótico</i> persona, Cassandro<i>.</i><br /><br />Source: <i>The New Yorker</i>: "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/man-without-mask">The Man Without a Mask</a>." <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vfmbxB_2jGw/VCFjLYjJFZI/AAAAAAAACQk/9SDzLxxRC40/s1600/cartel-luchas-casandro-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vfmbxB_2jGw/VCFjLYjJFZI/AAAAAAAACQk/9SDzLxxRC40/s1600/cartel-luchas-casandro-web.jpg" height="640" width="412" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Lucha Libre Poster </span></i><a href="http://culturacolectiva.com/lucha-libre-con-cassandro-el-exotico/"><span style="font-size: small;">[Source]</span></a><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VFZYZMu2NNs/VCG7t4t8EBI/AAAAAAAACQ0/DwCs5vlMr8I/s1600/Cassandro.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VFZYZMu2NNs/VCG7t4t8EBI/AAAAAAAACQ0/DwCs5vlMr8I/s1600/Cassandro.jpeg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Cassandro </i>[<a href="https://twitter.com/CassandroLucha">Source</a>]</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-7632813119061019912014-09-11T12:56:00.000-07:002014-09-11T12:56:55.534-07:00I Suppose I Won't Deactivate my Facebook AccountWe've all experienced that moment when, fed up with our Facebook experience, we think, "That's it, I'm deactivating!" Some of us actually do this. Others, like me, stick around for the next awesome post--like this photo from my friend, the writer, <a href="http://www.thenervousbreakdown.com/author/rpollon/">Rachel Pollon</a>. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y4UeqfoTIUo/VBH6G8K-r4I/AAAAAAAACPY/lwx_MU8G8xE/s1600/Rachel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y4UeqfoTIUo/VBH6G8K-r4I/AAAAAAAACPY/lwx_MU8G8xE/s1600/Rachel.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div><br />More Facebook:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2009/02/facebook-lists.html">"The Facebook Lists"</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2012/02/jamaals-status-updates.html">"Jamaal May's Facebook Status Updates"&nbsp;</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2011/06/first-grade-summer-journal.html">"First Grade Summer Journal" </a><br /><br />&amp; some Stonehenge:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2014/05/stonehenge-and-promise-of-spring.html">"Stonehenge and the Promise of Spring" </a><br /><br /><br /><br />Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-51049099509454063332014-09-08T10:51:00.000-07:002014-09-08T10:59:37.915-07:00The Warming Foods of Autumn For some, the end of summer is a depressing time. If you’re like me, you associate summer with&nbsp;youth, that unbearably exciting season of limitless play. <br /><br />Even as an adult, the return of school in September inspires within me a strange, sad mopiness. If I’m not careful, a mere errant wind, hauling the smell of scorched leaves, might crush me.<br /><br />And yet, there is always that day, that inevitably gorgeous day on the nib of summer and fall, when, browsing the local market, I come upon the season’s first butternut squash; when, holding the squash in my hand, I recall the soulful thrill of butternut squash soup. <br /><br />And so, after days of thinking, “I can’t go on,” I look at this simple gourd as nothing less than a total cure, and I say to myself, “I’ll go on. Soup will save me.”<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aSQC3qbkgr4/VA3rW0EoNfI/AAAAAAAACN8/obfBtd-pMYk/s1600/butternut%2Bsquash1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aSQC3qbkgr4/VA3rW0EoNfI/AAAAAAAACN8/obfBtd-pMYk/s1600/butternut%2Bsquash1.jpg" height="251" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>A <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/classic-butternut-squash-soup">variation of my butternut squash soup</a> for </em><em>Whole Foods Market</em></div><br />To me, a seasonal soup is the absolute best way to eat the season. A light Gazpacho or Carrot &amp; Almond soup is well-suited for the spring and summer months, but the cooler months compel opulent, humble soups: <b>Butternut Squash Soup</b> (recipe below), <a href="http://foodvibe.blogspot.com/2010/01/three-kickass-chickpea-recipes.html"><span style="color: blue;">Chickpea Soup with Saffron and Mushroom-Almond Garnish</span></a>, or <a href="http://http//foodvibe.blogspot.com/2008/02/winter-menu.html"><span style="color: blue;">Sweet Potato and Fennel Soup with Saffron</span></a>.<br /><br />Soup also offers a template for combining ingredients tailored for certain health conditions or body constitutions. A light miso soup offers refreshment to a sluggish constitution. Butternut squash soup, on the other hand, soothes a cool constitution like my own.<br /><br />Most soup recipes are easily adaptable. With practice, you can tailor your soup to you and your family’s distinct emotional and nutritional needs. I add turmeric to my butternut squash soup, for example, because it lends an emotionally uplifting, vibrant color to the dish; but&nbsp;turmeric is also <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17211725?dopt=AbstractPlus"><span style="color: blue;">autoimmune supportive</span></a>. Additionally, instead of olive oil, I add extra virgin coconut oil to my soup—not only for its fragrance, which reminds me of a certain surf shop in Stone Harbor, but because it is rich in antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral lauric acid.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><b>Balancing the Body in Autumn</b><br /><br />In the Philadelphia region, autumn is often dry, cool, and windy. After the warmth of the summer, your body might feel this new, cool weather as an imbalance. In Eastern medicine, doctors prescribe warming foods to settle this type of imbalance. Depending upon your constitution you might need more or less warming food, however most people benefit from including a majority of warming foods in the cool months.<br /><br />As Paul Pritchford notes in his classic book <i>Healing With Whole Foods</i>, warming foods include moderate amounts of animal products; warming grains and seeds, such as oats, spelt, quinoa, sweet brown rice, sunflower seed, sesame seed, walnut, pine nut, and chestnut; and autumn’s root vegetables and winter squashes. As Pritchford states, “Plants that take longer to grow…are more warming then those that grow quickly.”<br /><br />Pritchford continues, “Cooking methods that involve more cooking time, higher temperatures, greater pressure, dryness, and/or air circulation…impart more warming qualities to food.”<br /><br />Warming cooking methods, then, might include nourishing long-cooked soups like those mentioned above, stews, hearty gratins like <a href="http://www.kripalu.org/index.php?gclid=CI33tfi3xasCFUgZQgodhCun1g"><span style="color: blue;">Kripalu’s</span></a> <b>Squash-A-Roni</b> (recipe below), or a rich long-simmered dessert like <a href="http://foodvibe.blogspot.com/2008/07/dear-foodvibe-gluten-free-recipes.html"><span style="color: blue;">Coconut Rice Pudding</span></a>.<br /><br />Perhaps the easiest way to add warmth to your food is the addition of high-quality herbs or spices. Herbs and spices are among the healthiest foods on the planet; dense in vitamins and minerals, herbs and spices act as thermogenic foods, increasing your metabolism and stimulating warmth in the body.<br /><br />Many herbs and spices rate ridiculously high on the ORAC scale, the standardized method for measuring the antioxidant capacity of foods. As such, herbs and spices may<a href="http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Antioxidant-rich-spice-mix-shows-potential-for-heart-health"><span style="color: blue;"> combat some of harmful products initiated by the cooking process</span></a>. Check out my recipe for <b>Cinnamon, Paprika and Thyme Rubbed Chicken</b> (recipe below). And check out my adaptation of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Vegetarian-Kitchen-Peter-Berley/dp/0060989114">Peter Berley's</a> <strong>Moroccan Chermoula Tempeh</strong>--the greatest tempeh recipe of all time. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t28mSbOm7q8/ToY9Rjg4ZwI/AAAAAAAAAa0/cC6hw42Iu0Y/s1600/chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t28mSbOm7q8/ToY9Rjg4ZwI/AAAAAAAAAa0/cC6hw42Iu0Y/s320/chicken.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br />Herbs and spices can be added to any number of dishes for flavor, warmth, and astonishing health benefits. Healthy, warming herbs include oregano, thyme, and sage; the most potently healthy spices include turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg—all suitable for autumn recipes.<br /><br />If you cook with these thoughts in mind, you’ll learn to tailor your meal to the prevailing weather, as well as the moods and dispositions of the people you’re cooking for. However, remember&nbsp;the golden rule of cooking: culture and joy must reign. <br /><br />Any addition to any recipe should make cultural and culinary sense; likewise,&nbsp;additional ingredients should not compromise the joy of eating. Turmeric, for example, would be an atrocious addition to Gazpacho. And I would never use extra virgin coconut oil for my Tuscan Bean Soup. Recipes that call for misguided “substitutions” miss a major point of cooking: food is not merely nutrition; it is a powerful FORCE that connect us our environment, heritage, and culture.<br /><br /><b>Butternut Squash Soup</b><br /><br /><i>When I make this soup, I add the seeds from the butternut squash to a&nbsp; cheesecloth bundle, with a cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and three whole cloves.</i><br /><br />2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut or olive oil<br />1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced<br />3 garlic cloves peeled, and crushed<br />1 teaspoon turmeric<br />1 medium butternut squash (approximately 3 pounds) peeled, de-seeded, and cubed<br />4 ½ cups vegetable stock or water<br /><br />1 cup full-fat coconut milk (optional)<br />Sea salt &amp; fresh ground pepper <br /><br />Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and stew gently for 10-12 minutes.<br /><br />Add turmeric, raise heat to medium, and cook for 1 minute. Add butternut squash and stock; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 25-30 minutes, until squash is soft.<br /><br />When cool, blend the soup in batches. Add coconut milk, if desired, warm, and season to taste with salt and pepper.<br /><br /><b>Squash-A-Roni</b><br /><br />&nbsp;¾ pound whole wheat elbow&nbsp;or gluten free pasta<br />2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil <br />1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced<br />4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed <br />½ cup water<br />1⁄3 cup tahini<br />2 tablespoons white miso<br />1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar<br />1 teaspoon tamari<br />1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped<br />1 tablespoon dried thyme<br />¾ cup dried whole-grain bread crumbs<br />Sea salt &amp; fresh ground pepper<br /><br />In a large, ovenproof skillet, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the squash, ½ cup water, and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Cover and cook for until squash is soft, 15-20 minutes. <br /><br />Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the pasta in boiling water until tender, but still firm. <br /><br />Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together the tahini, miso, vinegar, and tamari. Add this mixture to the squash and mix until creamy. Add the reserved pasta, remaining oil, pecans, and thyme. Top with bread crumbs and bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately.<br /><br /><b>Cinnamon, Paprika, and Thyme Rubbed Chicken</b><br /><strong></strong><br />4 cups water<br />6 tablespoons kosher salt <br />4 center cut bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or legs<br />2 teaspoons sweet paprika<br />2 teaspoons dried thyme<br />1 teaspoons cinnamon <br /><br />Dissolve the salt and water in a gallon plastic bag. Place the chicken in the bag and brine for 1-2 hours. Meanwhile combine paprika, thyme, and cinnamon in a small bowl. <br /><br />Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Adjust oven rack to bottom position. Rinse and dry the chicken thoroughly. Rub the spice picture over brined and dried chicken parts. (At this point chicken can be left to dry on a wire rack in the refrigerator for up to two days.)<br /><br />Place chicken skin side down on a heavy-bottomed, oven-proof skillet. Place pan on bottom rack and roast for 18 minutes. Flip chicken breasts skin side up and continue to cook until a thermometer inserted into the chicken reads 165°F, 6-10 minutes. Serve. <br /><br /><strong>Moroccan Chermoula Tempeh</strong><br /><br />½ cup extra virgin olive oil <br />½ cup water <br />6 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice <br />1&nbsp;teaspoon sweet paprika <br />1 teaspoon ground cumin <br />½ teaspoon cayenne pepper<br />½ cup chopped cilantro <br />1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt <br />4 garlic cloves, crushed <br />1 pound tempeh, sliced in one inch cubes <br /><br />Preheat oven to 310 degrees. Combine oil, water, lemon juice, spices, cilantro, salt, and garlic in a medium bowl and whisk well. Place tempeh cubes in a 9 inch baking pan and pour marinade over it. Cover with tin foil and bake for 60 minutes. Uncover and bake for&nbsp;20 minutes, until browned. Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-49403975521764345402014-09-07T06:05:00.000-07:002016-08-04T09:44:26.711-07:00What do we need to make the country grow?<span style="font-size: large;">Well, my telephone rang, it would not stop</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">It's President Kennedy callin' me up</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">He said, "My friend, Bob,&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">what do we need to make the country grow?"</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I said, "My friend, John, "Brigitte Bardot, Anita Ekberg&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Sophia Loren"</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Country'll grow.</span><br /><br />~Bob Dylan, "I Shall Be Free" <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-scLnUjW15mg/VAxXuRRiQnI/AAAAAAAACNs/x7105fKFyFo/s1600/sophia%2Bloren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-scLnUjW15mg/VAxXuRRiQnI/AAAAAAAACNs/x7105fKFyFo/s1600/sophia%2Bloren.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Sophia Loren [Image via: <a href="http://dappered.com/2014/09/sophias-curves-hipster-royals-and-cell-phone-security/">Dappered</a>]</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-46600562137139533522014-09-03T13:54:00.000-07:002014-09-07T06:02:27.710-07:00Man Fined for Pretending to be a Ghost<span style="font-size: large;">"The witnesses reported the group engaging in rowdy behaviour and one of them throwing their arms in the air and saying 'woooooo'." </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">&nbsp;<span style="font-size: small;">~A </span></span>Hampshire police spokesman, after local witnesses complained about a man "pretending to be a ghost and other rowdy behavior in a cemetery."<br /><br />Source:"<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/07/man-fined-pretending-to-be-ghost-portsmouth-cemetery-anthony-stallard">Man fined for pretending to be ghost in Portsmouth cemetery</a>."<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G4WZsFqMSRQ/VAd_fI5mI3I/AAAAAAAACNA/LL7ante4Yn0/s1600/ghost2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G4WZsFqMSRQ/VAd_fI5mI3I/AAAAAAAACNA/LL7ante4Yn0/s1600/ghost2.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Anyone else excited for Halloween, 2014? </span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-72481676734287690082014-09-02T17:12:00.003-07:002016-07-26T13:16:51.593-07:00Now That's One Badass Blazer <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5wCpiCLYOC0/VAZcRBaKULI/AAAAAAAACMw/FwMok4uqMic/s1600/Laga-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5wCpiCLYOC0/VAZcRBaKULI/AAAAAAAACMw/FwMok4uqMic/s1600/Laga-3.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">[Source: <a href="http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/rowing-blazers-book">Esquire</a>]</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-72528763959993905232014-09-01T18:21:00.002-07:002016-08-13T05:55:24.346-07:00Goodbye, Summer<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PiFfFryPE-Y/VAUZhK0rCWI/AAAAAAAACKo/rju5w99ngRg/s1600/Antonio%2BVitali.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PiFfFryPE-Y/VAUZhK0rCWI/AAAAAAAACKo/rju5w99ngRg/s1600/Antonio%2BVitali.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Wooden Puzzle by Antonio Vitali [Source: <a href="http://www.anambitiousprojectcollapsing.com/2014/03/a-perfectly-customized-puzzle-by.html">An Ambitious Project Collapsing</a>]</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br />More goodbyes to summer:<br /><br />A poem:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2013/07/poem-we-will-never-die.html">"We Will Never Die"</a><br /><br />An essay: "<a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2009/10/goodbye-summer.html">Be still, my shark-filled heart</a>."<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-12s52MM5_BA/VAUa9N0EJiI/AAAAAAAACK0/bIW5z5QRrpU/s1600/IMG_3686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-12s52MM5_BA/VAUa9N0EJiI/AAAAAAAACK0/bIW5z5QRrpU/s1600/IMG_3686.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">My daughter, Ella, dancing in an Icelandic toy store: July 2014</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-18428007501729445492014-08-13T09:36:00.000-07:002014-08-13T09:36:37.752-07:00R.I.P. Robin Williams<span style="font-size: large;">"There’s three things in this world that you need: Respect for all kinds of life, a nice bowel movement on a regular basis, and a navy blazer."&nbsp;</span><br /><br />~Robin Williams, <i>The Fisher King&nbsp;&nbsp;</i><br /><br />[Via: <a href="http://putthison.com/">Put This On</a>]<i> </i>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-77583534610120467152014-08-08T03:17:00.001-07:002014-08-08T03:17:25.350-07:00Picasso in His Studio<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L6CPRHy9p4Q/U-Si4AWAdoI/AAAAAAAACIM/31aZ9YUCQh8/s1600/Picasso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L6CPRHy9p4Q/U-Si4AWAdoI/AAAAAAAACIM/31aZ9YUCQh8/s1600/Picasso.jpg" height="640" width="516" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">[Source: <a href="http://ovadiaandsons.tumblr.com/post/93312043134">OVADIA &amp; SONS</a>]</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-90522168270748643512014-06-27T09:38:00.002-07:002014-06-27T09:38:58.500-07:00Summer Shape-Up: Day Five As Healthy Eating Specialist for Whole Foods Market, in North Wales, PA, I am hosting a <a href="http://as%20healthy%20eating%20specialist%20for%20whole%20foods%20market,%20in%20north%20wales,%20pa,%20i%20am%20hosting%20a%20seven-day%20summer%20shape-up,%20a%20gentle%20and%20easy-to-follow%20%22cleansing%22%20program./"><span style="color: #3d81ee;">Seven-Day Summer Shape-Up</span></a>, a gentle and easy-to-follow "cleansing" program. Today is the fifth day of the program.<br /><br /><b>Day 5: Friday, June 27</b>: Eat only fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and/or lightly steamed vegetables or baked sweet potatoes or potatoes. Drink only clean, purified water and/or gently cleansing tea. (Limit fruit to 2-3 servings per day). <br /><br />Today we continue the challenge of eating <i>only</i> fruits and vegetables for&nbsp;one more day. As we look ahead to a more expansive diet, we'd all do well to heed Paul Pritchford's wisdom from <em>Healing With Whole Foods</em>:<br /><br />"When breaking...all fasts, the most important rule is to not overeat. The success of a fast depends on how well it is broken, for the desire to binge can be overwhelming. If one immediately puts all the excesses back in that came out during the fast, any benefit is doubtful."<br /><br />This is the reason we've developed a <em>seven</em>-day fast that includes two days of gentle eating at the beginning and<em> end</em> of the fast. I know from my own experience that breaking a fast in the wrong way can not only negate the benefits, but also cause serious problems. <br /><br />I broke my first fast, a five day raw fruit and vegetable fast, with a mixing bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and cold whole milk. I'm not joking. I ate the cereal with a wooden mixing spoon in a state of&nbsp;manic glee. My wife&nbsp;(girlfriend at the time), Karen, stood above me, begging me to stop: <br /><br />"You're ruining <em>everything.</em>" <br /><br />I felt sick for days after: sick in my gut and head, so angry at myself for my idiotic indiscretion.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OII8NE3QIXo/U62ZFiBDq0I/AAAAAAAACFY/RXyA8r0M3pM/s1600/seth+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OII8NE3QIXo/U62ZFiBDq0I/AAAAAAAACFY/RXyA8r0M3pM/s1600/seth+salad.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">To honor (and subvert) my former idiocy, I now eat my salads out of mixing bowls. </span></em></td></tr></tbody></table><br />My friend Steve Pyle offers&nbsp;a&nbsp;more reasonable, yet no less insatiable, portrait of breaking a fast with a pomegranate in his essay, "<a href="http://foodvibe.blogspot.com/2008/04/on-cleansing-and-fasting.html">On Cleansing and Fasting</a>": <br /><br />"I must have looked like a monster.<br /><br />I was sitting in the front seat of my car, parked at a fire hydrant alongside a busy Bronx sidewalk. I had a crazed look in the eye, my face seemingly smeared with blood, dripping from the chin. Teeth gnashing, I rolled down the window to spit out a mouthful of carnage, trailing a line of saliva from my bottom lip to the curb. People on the sidewalk took a wide berth of my car—afraid to look too closely, afraid they might see the scattered, half-eaten limbs of children strewn across the back seat.<br /><br />Afraid I might eat them too.<br /><br />I was only eating a pomegranate, barehanded, with no napkin or utensils. I forgot to get them from the guy at the fruit stand.<br /><br />It was the fifth day of a week-long cleansing fast. I was sucking out the juice, spitting whole mouthfuls of seeds into the street. At the time, I was too delirious with hunger, too high from fasting to care what I looked like. I was only concentrating on the taste of the juice in my mouth: a supernova of sweet, a cataclysmic explosion on my starved palate.<br /><br />I had never tasted a pomegranate like this before."<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br />Fasting sharpens your senses, especially your sense of taste. In <a href="http://foodvibe.blogspot.com/2008/04/dude-of-honey.html">my own essay about type-1 diabetes</a>, I detailed my first taste of honey after&nbsp;an&nbsp;extreme fast:<br /><br />"I tasted pure honey for the first time one summer at the age of twenty at Miller's food store in Lancaster. By "pure" I mean that I ate the honey without any accompaniment whatsoever. It was merely a drop, an accident really: I had spilled the tiniest amount while opening the jar and, without thinking, I licked it up. At the time, I had not eaten for three days—I was in the midst of a three-day water and lemon&nbsp;fast—and this isolated taste of honey was the most unexpected and pleasurable food experience I could have imagined."<br /><br />If you've followed the outline of this Summer Shape-Up, you might be experiencing this pleasure now; or perhaps you will experience it tomorrow, when you eat your first <em>non</em>-fruit or vegetable food. <br /><br />Just remember: Take it slow. Be gentle. Chew your food thoroughly.Try not to eat too much food at once. And stick to tomorrow's outline:<br /><br /><strong>Day 6: Saturday, June 28</strong>: Avoid all wheat, dairy, processed sugar, and grains. Drink plenty of clean, purified water.<br /><br />If you have any questions about tomorrow, please email me: <a href="mailto:sethpollins@gmail.com">sethpollins@gmail.com</a>. <br /><br />And if you get a chance, please come see me at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AmblerFarmersMarket">Ambler Farmers' Market</a>. I'll be there all day teaching kids' cooking classes. Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-71207201863866613602014-06-26T07:19:00.000-07:002014-06-26T07:25:01.355-07:00Summer Shape-Up: Day Four As Healthy Eating Specialist for Whole Foods Market, in North Wales, PA, I am hosting a <a href="http://as%20healthy%20eating%20specialist%20for%20whole%20foods%20market,%20in%20north%20wales,%20pa,%20i%20am%20hosting%20a%20seven-day%20summer%20shape-up,%20a%20gentle%20and%20easy-to-follow%20%22cleansing%22%20program./">Seven-Day Summer Shape-Up</a>, a gentle and easy-to-follow "cleansing" program. Today is the fourth day of the program.<br /><br /><b>Day 4: Thursday, June 26</b>: Eat only fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and/or lightly steamed vegetables or baked sweet potatoes or potatoes. Drink only clean, purified water and/or gently cleansing tea. (Limit fruit to 2-3 servings per day). <br /><br />Today we continue the challenge of eating <i>only</i> fruits and vegetables for two more days.<br /><br />In my experience, the second day of a fruit and vegetable fast is often the hardest. Anecdotal reports across the Internet seem to agree with this view. Generally speaking, the <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/430506/Beat-the-first-week-diet-demons">first days of any diet are considered the hardest</a>.<br /><br />I don't say this discourage you, of course, but to simply prepare you for a potentially challenging day.&nbsp; And just remember: tomorrow is the final day. You only need to make it to Saturday morning, when you are free, within reason, to begin eating a more expansive diet. (We will talk about "breaking your fast" tomorrow).<br /><br />Today, especially, you might find yourself bothered by hunger pangs or cravings for certain foods. In my experience with fasting, I typically begin to dream about food on the second or third day. Once, in the midst of a <a href="http://themastercleanse.org/">Master Cleanse</a>, I found myself dreaming nightly of bananas. <br /><br />Do not ignore your hunger. If you feel hungry, eat. If you feel you must <i>eat</i> more than fruits and vegetables, eat nuts. But moreover, do not ignore your hunger because, in a real sense, this feeling is exactly why you've found yourself here, now, in this moment. <br /><br />We asked these questions <a href="http://www.thenewsavagery.com/2014/03/the-art-of-not-eating.html#more">before</a>, during our 28-Day Challenge:<br /><br />Why do we fast?<br /><br />For that matter, why do we eat?<br /><br />Why do develop cravings for food? It isn't always food that we crave. What is it then?<br /><br />By examining your hunger as it occurs, in the moment, you might discover new answers to these questions.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ft7Ubca2zU/U6wrJ78y7yI/AAAAAAAACFI/VzpIeH2PJ2g/s1600/FeedMe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ft7Ubca2zU/U6wrJ78y7yI/AAAAAAAACFI/VzpIeH2PJ2g/s1600/FeedMe.jpg" height="357" width="400" /></a></div><br />I stopped eating wheat nearly ten years ago--a decision that irrevocably improved my health. I did not come upon the decision easily. In fact, I believe I needlessly suffered years of symptoms simply because I told myself I'd never, ever stop eating wheat.<br /><br />Why? Well, so much of my experience with food had been determined by my love of wheat. I had so many positive associations with wheat; so many joyful moments. In fact, I date my true love affair with food to a precise moment in Florence, Italy, when I discovered my first crepe.<br /><br />As I <a href="http://foodvibe.blogspot.com/2009/06/early-inspirations-cooking-as-love.html">wrote</a> five years ago on FoodVibe:<br /><br />"My life as a cook commenced at the age of twenty-one, on a curb in Florence. It was a warm afternoon in early April and I had just discovered an open-air creperie on one of the hidden streets around the San Lorenzo market. Poking my head under the blue awning, I ordered a crepe with Belgian chocolate. A greasy, good-looking woman with a full mouth poured the batter onto a cooking stone, spread the batter thin with her spatula, and flipped the crepe onto another stone. Fluid in her movements, she barely paid attention as she spread the chocolate on the crepe, as the butter sizzled and melted on the stone.<br /><br />I paid for the crepe and sat on the curb where a line of students were laughing and waiting. I took a bite. Suddenly, powerfully, I was stirred. I took another bite, a wide mouthed chomp of pure boldness. Chocolate oozed onto my lips. The crepe was delicious, perhaps the most delicious crepe in Florence—no, in the world! I looked at the greasy crepe lady. She certainly was good-looking. Suddenly, I felt an inexplicable urge: I wanted to make my own crepe. And I knew only this: it must be the most delicious crepe in the world.<br /><br />I'm still working on it. Ten years later, I have yet to reproduce the most delicious crepe in the world. But the pursuit has inspired me. I just can't shake the indomitable bug that bit me that afternoon: the desire to create food.<br /><br />That afternoon, I walked back to my <span style="font-style: italic;">pensioni</span>, burdened with flour, fresh eggs, and a handful of chocolate chips. I spent several hours in the kitchen, trying to create, or rather re-create, the perfect crepe. Of course, I failed. And yet I did not suffer the sorrow of my failure. Later, lying in my bed, stuffed with batter and chocolate, I felt absolutely happy: I had spent the afternoon immersed in a creative venture, and the experience had vivified me.<br /><br />This is the joy of cooking: the creative venture. I'm a writer. I'm also a cook. Both are forms of creative expression. Often, to me, cooking is the most powerful form of creative expression—an expression of love for those you cook for. When you mix the batter for a crepe, you are really writing a love poem."<br /><br />***<br /><br />When I stopped eating wheat, I felt as if I had lost this person--this inspired, young man.<br /><br />It took me nearly a year to understand that, in fact, I had only lost the crepe--or, in any case, future crepes. Everything else--the boldness, the desire to create food, the joy--remained.<br /><br />It might've taken me a year to understand this, yet I felt the benefits of avoiding wheat within a day. This experience--as well as the experience of so many others--has taught me that we often hold onto ways of eating that no longer serve our needs. We do so because we're in thrall of our former lives, all those moments that once gave us happiness.<br /><br />A moment is not simply about a crepe, though.<br /><br />And, of course, we change. Our bodies change. Our emotions change. Our associations evolve.<br /><br />So: How do you feel <i>now</i>?<br /><br />In the spirit of now, I'd like to offer a selection from <i>Leaves of Grass</i>, perhaps my favorite section of the entire poem.<br /><br /><b>Walt Whitman: Song of Myself: Part 44</b><br /><br />It is time to explain myself—let us stand up.<br /><br />What is known I strip away,<br />I launch all men and women forward with me into the Unknown.<br /><br />The clock indicates the moment—but what does eternity indicate?<br /><br />We have thus far exhausted trillions of winters and summers,<br />There are trillions ahead, and trillions ahead of them.<br /><br />Births have brought us richness and variety,<br />And other births will bring us richness and variety.<br /><br />I do not call one greater and one smaller,<br />That which fills its period and place is equal to any.<br /><br />Were mankind murderous or jealous upon you, my brother, my sister?<br />I am sorry for you, they are not murderous or jealous upon me,<br />All has been gentle with me, I keep no account with lamentation,<br />&nbsp;(What have I to do with lamentation?)<br /><br />I am an acme of things accomplish'd, and I an encloser of things to be.<br /><br />My feet strike an apex of the apices of the stairs,<br />On every step bunches of ages, and larger bunches between the steps,<br />All below duly travel'd, and still I mount and mount.<br /><br />Rise after rise bow the phantoms behind me,<br />Afar down I see the huge first Nothing, I know I was even there,<br />I waited unseen and always, and slept through the lethargic mist,<br />And took my time, and took no hurt from the fetid carbon.<br /><br />&nbsp;Long I was hugg'd close—long and long.<br /><br />Immense have been the preparations for me,<br />Faithful and friendly the arms that have help'd me.<br /><br />Cycles ferried my cradle, rowing and rowing like cheerful boatmen,<br />For room to me stars kept aside in their own rings,<br />They sent influences to look after what was to hold me.<br /><br />Before I was born out of my mother generations guided me,<br />My embryo has never been torpid, nothing could overlay it.<br /><br />For it the nebula cohered to an orb,<br />The long slow strata piled to rest it on,<br />Vast vegetables gave it sustenance,<br />Monstrous sauroids transported it in their mouths and deposited it<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; with care.<br /><br />All forces have been steadily employ'd to complete and delight me,<br />Now on this spot I stand with my robust soul. Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8332111079938208597.post-54667753766478925322014-06-25T06:43:00.000-07:002014-06-26T06:20:45.022-07:00Summer Shape-Up: Day Three As Healthy Eating Specialist for Whole Foods Market, in North Wales, PA, I am hosting a <a href="http://as%20healthy%20eating%20specialist%20for%20whole%20foods%20market,%20in%20north%20wales,%20pa,%20i%20am%20hosting%20a%20seven-day%20summer%20shape-up,%20a%20gentle%20and%20easy-to-follow%20%22cleansing%22%20program./">Seven-Day Summer Shape-Up</a>, a gentle and easy-to-follow "cleansing" program. Today is the third day of the program.<br /><br /><b>Day 3: Wednesday, June 25</b>: Eat only fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and/or lightly steamed vegetables or baked sweet potatoes or potatoes. Drink only clean, purified water and/or gently cleansing tea. (Limit fruit to 2-3 servings per day). <br /><br />Today we meet the challenge of eating <i>only</i> fruits and vegetables for three days. <br /><br />If, in fact, this diet feels <i>too</i> challenging for you, I suggest adding small amounts of fats, like nuts (1/8 cup per meal) or coconut milk. Remember, too, fresh olives are a fruit.<br /><br />You might also add additional protein foods to lunch or dinner: 4 oz. of lean protein, like chicken breast or wild cod, or 4-6 oz. tempeh braised in coconut milk and spices, or 1/2 black beans or adzuki beans.&nbsp; <br /><br />A Shape-Up participant, Jane, asked, "Can we use small amounts of oil for our salads and steamed vegetables?"<br /><br />In theory, of course, you can eat whatever you like. This program is designed to gently guide you through seven days of light and healthful eating. If you feel that the design is too rigid--if you find yourself ravenously hungry--please add additional foods to suit your tastes and temperament.<br /><br />If you do use oil, however, I suggest sticking to small amounts (1-2 teaspoons per meal) of raw extra virgin olive, raw extra virgin avocado oil, or unrefined nut or seed oils like sesame oil. For your vegetables, you might also use apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or wheat free tamari or mirin. <br /><br />In short, if a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar help you stay the course--well, then, I say, "Do it!"<br /><br />Another challenge with this sort of diet is boredom.<br /><br />Most of us typically do not spend much time preparing fruit and vegetable dishes. If you're like me, for example, your tendency might be to treat your vegetables simply. Today, I'll steam my vegetables and toss them with my <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/blackened-jalapeno-and-avocado-dipping-sauce">avocado dipping sauce</a>. That's it.<br /><br />For inspiration, browse Whole Foods Market's <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/search/%20?f[0]=field_recipe_featured_in%3A8481">"Healthy Eating" recipes</a>. <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/avocado-and-grapefruit-salad">Avocado and Grapefruit Salad</a> is simple and healthy. Or how about a <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/carrot-dressing">Carrot Dressing</a> for your vegetables?<br /><br />My friend, Candy Calderon, a health coach and recipe extraordinaire, offers plenty of inspiration on her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NamiByCandy">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://instagram.com/candy_nami#">Instragram</a> pages. Both of her recipes below use small amounts of oil, yet otherwise emphasize the elegant simplicity of fresh fruits and vegetables.<br /><br /><b>Persimmon &amp; Avocado Caprese Salad</b><br /><br /><i>Persimmons stand in for tomatoes and avocados for mozzarella in this Asian take on a classic Italian appetizer.</i><br /><br />2 teaspoon unrefined sesame oil<br />1 ½ teaspoon tamari<br />2 persimmons, sliced<br />1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced<br />½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)<br /><br />Whisk together sesame oil and tamari in a small bowl. Set aside.<br /><br />Arrange avocados and persimmons slices in overlapping pattern on serving plates. Drizzle with sesame dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9QhB_CSWFIg/U6rOE4w1-TI/AAAAAAAACEQ/vtqzD1mUlG4/s1600/persimmon+avocado+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9QhB_CSWFIg/U6rOE4w1-TI/AAAAAAAACEQ/vtqzD1mUlG4/s1600/persimmon+avocado+salad.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Candy's Persimmon and Avocado Caprese Salad</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><b>Mango Avocado Salad&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><i>If you're looking for more sustenance, and feel that you need extra protein, you might try my <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/mango-avocado-and-black-bean-salad-lime-dressing">Mango, Avocado, and Black Bean Salad</a>. However, Candy's recipe below is both beautiful and sustaining--a perfect lunch salad. </i><b><br /></b><br /><br />2 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped<br />1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped<br />1 tablespoon lime juice<br />2 teaspoons olive oil<br />1 tablespoon cilantro leaves<br /><br />After preparing the mangoes and avocado, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.<br /><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R7E0X7ACLLg/U6rQLPtr_bI/AAAAAAAACEc/jPtggAt1_RQ/s1600/mango.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R7E0X7ACLLg/U6rQLPtr_bI/AAAAAAAACEc/jPtggAt1_RQ/s1600/mango.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Candy's Mango and Avocado Salad: Gorgeous!</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Open Emails!</b><br /><br />If during the program you have any questions, please take advantage of the "open-email" policy: email me at <a href="mailto:sethpollins@gmail"><span style="color: #3d81ee;">sethpollins@gmail</span></a> and I will try to return your email within a few hours. Or please feel free to leave a comment below! Seth Pollinshttps://plus.google.com/105136701984490585056noreply@blogger.com0